Dennis Haskins (born November 18, 1950) is an American actor known for his role as principal Richard Belding in the teen sitcom Saved by the Bell, which ran from 1989 to 1993 on NBC. He then went on to star in Saved by the Bell: The New Class, which aired from 1993 to 2000. He also portrayed the role as a regular in Good Morning, Miss Bliss.

Early life

He was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Haskins is an alumnus of Our Lady of Perpetual Help as well as Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga and of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He played basketball at UTC after failing to make the team at the University of Tennessee. He was also a member of the cheerleading squad. Haskins is a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity. Dennis Haskins currently splits his time between LA and Winthrop Massachusetts.

Before breaking into acting, Haskins was a contestant on the TV game shows Press Your Luck and Scrabble. In recent years, he has been lobbying to become a cast member on ABC's Dancing With The Stars.

Career

Haskins started his role as Mr. Belding in 1988's Good Morning, Miss Bliss on the Disney Channel. After a year the show was retooled as Saved by the Bell on NBC, with Haskins being the only adult member of the regular cast. Known for the catchphrase "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, what is going on here?", he continued the role on the spinoff Saved by the Bell: The New Class until 2000. He had a brief cameo as himself in the 2006 film Boys & Girls Guide To Getting Down.

On February 4, 2015, Haskins reunited with Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Elizabeth Berkley, Mario Lopez and Tiffani Thiessen on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon where they appeared in a Saved by the Bell sketch with Fallon.

Music and other media

On August 31, 2009, Haskins released his first music album called "Karaoke With Your Favorite Principal Dennis." On the album, he sings everything from âPiano Manâ to âMustang Sallyâ, the latter being a duet with Hulk Hogan's daughter Brooke Hogan. The CD was recorded in the summer of 2009 at Mikron Studios in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, with Mike Headrick. Cody McCarver produced the project, and Mike Yarworth financed it. More recently, in 2011, Haskins appeared in the video for "See You In Shell" by experimental metalcore band I Wrestled a Bear Once, which parodied Saved By the Bell and films by John Hughes.

Haskins is also a fan of professional wrestling and WWE. He has appeared in multiple episodes of Z! True Long Island Story, a YouTube series by WWE professional wrestler Zack Ryder. He was most recently spotted at an episode of Raw.

On November 16, 2013, Haskins appeared at the Venetian in Las Vegas, Nevada. He served as a guest speaker for the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation's Team Challenge Pasta Dinner the night before the Las Vegas Rock 'n Roll Marathon. Over 1,000 people were in attendance for the Team Challenge event, and the program has raised nearly $50 million to date. Haskins became involved with the organization after his doctor approached him and asked him to speak at the event.

Awards

Haskins was honored with The University of Tennessee at Chattanoogaâs Most Distinguished Alumni of 2000 award and has a regional high school academic decathlon name after him, The Dennis Haskins Open, now in its eleventh year.

Haskins threw out the first pitch at the Asheville Tourists minor league baseball game on May 3, 2014.